USDA Funding Up 58% since 2002; Up 44% Since 2008

(CNSNews.com) – Funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has increased by 58.7 percent – in real inflation-adjusted dollars -- over a decade, 2002-12, according to calculations based on Treasury Department data, and up 44 percent since 2008.

In fiscal year 2002, the USDA spending was $68,978,000,000, according to the Final Monthly Treasury Statement for fiscal year 2002. That’s $88,031,880, 000 in 2012 dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.

By fiscal year 2012, USDA spending climbed to $139,714,000,000, according to the Final Monthly Treasury Statement for fiscal year 2012 released last September. That’s a 58.7 percent increase in real inflation-adjusted dollars.

The Obama administration has argued that severe consequences would occur as the sequester budget cuts commence on Mar. 1. Under the deal, $44 billion across-the-board federal cuts in increased spending for 2013 will commence, which is equal to about 1.2 percent of the entire federal budget of $3.6 trillion.

Federal spending will increase over 2012 spending, just not as much as the administration and many lawmakers wanted.

In fiscal year 2008, USDA funding was $90,786,000,000. That would be $96,812,030,000 in 2012 dollars. That amounts to an increase of 44.3 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars by 2012.